Second City Cop

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Funeral Brawl

A Chicago police officer suffered injuries to his face while trying to break up a fight tonight between suspected gang members in an alley near a South Side funeral home.

The police officer responded at 7:28 p.m. to a call of a fight near the funeral home in the 600 block of West 37th Street, Officer John Mirabelli said. When the officer approached the people who were fighting, he was hit in the face.

Other officers were called to the scene, Mirabelli said.

When the man who police believe hit the officer was arrested, he kicked out the windows of the squad car, Mirabelli said.

Fire Sale - US Senate Seat

Evidently, the asking price fell quite a bit short of Blago's original estimate:

Burris has given more than $20,000 to Blagojevich's campaign fund on his own and through his consulting and law firms, state campaign finance records show. Burris' consulting company received about $290,000 in state contracts with the Illinois Department of Transportation a few years ago, according to state comptroller records.

Pay-to-play continues. The look on Burris' face was hilarious when Channel 2's Mike Flannery asked about the $14,000 Burris had personally contributed over the past few years.

Burris might be an honest man on some level. But one doesn't get anywhere in Illinois politics without paying the piper, in this case, $14,000 to $20,000. And Burris backtracking all over his own call that no one accept a tainted appointment from Blago looks all the more hypocritical when he leapt at the offer first chance he got. He's a Machine tool, first and foremost.

Swiper Returns

No Rifles?

Someone, anyone, tell us this is a joke:

Weis says that there's going to be public hearings on whether or not to deploy carbines. Is he nuts?

We can't find this in any media clips, articles or whatnot. But you and we all know that "public hearings" would go exactly the way Shortshanks wants them to go and that means the Department will have spend untold hundreds of thousands of dollars and man hours on training, mounts, and maybe even the rifles themselves and not one officer or citizen is any safer and not one city site is more secure.

Fewer Line of Duty Deaths

Fewer police officers died in the line of duty in 2008 compared to last year, reflecting better training and tactics, two law enforcement support groups reported Sunday.

The findings reversed the trend for 2007 when there was a spike in police deaths, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and another group, Concerns of Police Survivors.

Gunfire deaths dropped to 41 officers this year, compared to 68 in 2007. The 2008 number represented the lowest total since 1956 — when there were 35 — and was far below the peak of 156 officers killed by gunfire in 1973.

Traffic-related deaths also declined, with 71 officers killed this year, compared to 83 in 2007. It was the 11th consecutive year that more officers were killed in traffic incidents than from any other cause.

Once again, it's the traffic that will kill you more often than an armed assailant.

That doesn't make Chicago's year any less painful, with Officers Francis and Taylor being killed in the Line of Duty, Airhart succumbing to his wounds years later, and the off duty death of Soto. Those wounds will remain raw for years. But it is good to see that number of Line of Duty deaths decline.

It's Uncanny

On an average December day at the height of last year's record- and axle-breaking winter pothole season, the city's Department of Transportation logged 300 pothole complaints.

By late this afternoon, the daily count was 797 and climbing.

In the city, an exasperated Chicago Transportation Commissioner Thomas Byrne said many of this winter's potholes are bigger than last year's worst-in-a-decade batch.

Perhaps the poor clearing done by Streets & Sanitation resulted in more snow being on the road to melt and work its way into the cracks to freeze again?

Or maybe the poor salt job this year that previously let the brine work its way into sewer covers and keep them clear for the draining of snow melt allowed way more liquid to stay up on the streets and work its way into potholes,

Or even the more noticeable water main breaks and leaking hydrants indicative of neglected infrastructure going back years, maybe even decades.

It's pretty much all interconnected at some level. Like Chicago, Cook and Illinois politics. And soon, Washington DC.

Money Keeps Appearing

Starting as early as January, the city will begin replacing sidewalks on the well-traveled Michigan Avenue bridge and swapping out plain 1960s-era handrails for replicas of the original ornate 1920s design.

[...] The $3.5 million project is "tentatively" scheduled to start next month. The project will be a challenge, considering that 30,000 people walk over the bridge on an average weekday.

We've heard that the FOP has finally talking money issues with the City and it should be noted that this is usually an end-game issue, meaning they're pretty close to having something sent out to the membership for a vote. We'll try to stay on top of this in the coming year.

Pump Your Own Gas

Starting today, the City layoffs hit the refueling stations. Most of the people working there told us they were being shifted around to other spots rather than being laid off permanently, but some were still losing their jobs. In a bloated bureaucracy that is city government, these were some of the more vulnerable spots. We always thought that those spots were "make work" spots for precinct captains and the like.

We'll begin by saying that we have no problem pumping our own gas. We've done it for years. We're sort of computer literate, we can follow the on-screen prompts, we can enter numbers, not a big deal.

We expect some people are going to bitch about looking under the hood though. Not that most of the attendants went the extra step anyway, but it light of no pool cars citywide and no tires at three of the garages, it may benefit everyone to at least be aware of what is in the engine compartment.

Falling Glass?

It's amazing how a 300 pound pane of glass can fall 20+ stories off a high rise mere blocks from the mayor's front porch, crush a SUV with two citizens in it (causing minor injuries) and not one word is printed in the papers. At least not in the on-line versions as we don't spend a dime on the actual dead tree media.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Daley's Miracle

The streets are cleared! All praise Daley and Picardi! They had it all planned. We just had to wait for a 60 degree day at the end of December and everything would be fine. Oh ye of little faith, you should be ashamed to doubt that our great leader wouldn't have the streets cleared in time for the New Year. On to criticizing the pothole situation:

The Chicago Department of Transportation also saw an uptick in reported potholes -- going from 200 to 300 reported last weekend to 500 by Christmas Eve, according to spokesman Brian Steele. CDOT has increased the number of pothole crews -- to 11 from about five.

Perhaps we should look into crooked asphalt contracting and road building? We mean, how is it that Europe can build concrete highways that last for decades and we can't seem to find a contractor that can put together a road that lasts two winters? And we won't accept the argument about "harsh" winter conditions. That's BS. Wisconsin builds better roads that Illinois does. Do they add cheese?

This is without a doubt the worst year we've seen for snow clearing and potholes in a long time. The mismanagement of the entire City and not just the Police Department, is appalling. Is there any hope?

Blago Lawyer Games

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Blagojevich's lawyer Monday intends to submit President-elect Barack Obama's internal report to a House impeachment panel as evidence the governor wasn't trying to enrich himself while deciding who to appoint to Illinois' vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Denied the ability to subpoena Obama's inner circle, defense attorney Ed Genson told the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday that the report will buttress his arguments the governor has done nothing wrong and deserves to remain in office.

Golly. Who'd have thunk it? Blago to be bailed out by an investigation spearheaded by Obama's people. Amazing how this is all going to work out. The Machine protects its own.

Bears Bow Out, Blackhawks Roll

We think they did better than we thought they would this year. But even one other win when it mattered would have only extended the season a week or so. We don't believe the Bears were a playoff caliber team this year. The defense is showing it's age, Orton might not be the answer and the receivers are nothing to write home about. How many touchdowns didn't Hester return this year that might have made a difference?

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Bring on the Detroit Red Wings and the Winter Classic.

Dustin Byfuglien led Chicago to its franchise-record ninth straight victory, scoring two goals and adding an assist in the Blackhawks' 4-1 decision over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night.

Chicago, set to play Detroit in a home-and-home series, broke the team record of eight straight victories set in December 1971 and matched in January 1981. With the nine-game streak, the Blackhawks tied San Jose for the longest run of the season.

We've got a good feeling about the Blackhawks this year. Rocky Wirtz is proving day in and day out that his father had the wrong business model in mind running this once proud franchise into the ground. We wish him continued success. And we are looking forward to the home-in-home series against the Red Wings. We will be at one of the games.

Sun Times Goes First?

CHICAGO (AP) - A little more than a century ago, Chicago boasted 11 daily English-language newspapers.

The fierce competition among them, immortalized in the 1928 play "The Front Page," even turned bloody at times, and that drive to outdo one another led to 35 Pulitzer Prizes, journalism's highest honor.

Today, only two major dailies remain in this city of 3 million, and both are in serious trouble from declining circulation, plummeting ad revenue and a new kind of competition that threatens to make newsprint itself obsolete.

A halfway decent retrospective of what Chicago media used to be. The article opines that the Sun Times will be the first to go. Our money is on a merger at the moment.

Once the papers (or at least their editorial staffs) became part of the Daley Machine/Illinois Combine, the papers lost credibility. Does anyone seriously think it was unusual that Blago expected the Tribune to play ball with him over editorial coverage if he threatened to hold up the sale of Wrigley Field? Where does anyone think Patti Mell-Blago got the idea? She learned it on daddy's knee.

Pay to play isn't just for polticians. Media companies want to play, too.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Bears Last Stand

The whole ball of wax. All the marbles. Win or go home. Cliche city:

For the second straight week the Bears win in overtime to keep their postseason hopes alive, which should make this an intriguing matchup. The Texans will want to get back on track after dropping a game to Oakland in Week 16. Houston had won four in a row before stumbling last week and has plenty of firepower to give the Bears problems. This should be a hard-fought battle.

The above from ESPN's site. Bears are three-and-a-half point favorites. We're sure that there's a whole scenario of other things that have to happen for the Bears to make it in unscathed, but firstly, they have to win. The Vikings are playing at the same time, so we're pretty sure the media will be cutting back and forth to heighten the tension.

UPDATE: Vikings win on last second field goal. So that's the end of the Division Championship hopes. Bears must win this game in the last seconds and then someone else has to lose for the Wild Card hopes.

Just as a Comparison

The Kankakee Police Department is looking for two "persons of interest" in the shooting death early this morning of Ryan M. Graefnitz of Manteno, which the Kankakee Daily Journal said is the first homicide in the county this year.

Graefnitz, 23, a former student athlete, was shot just after midnight and found in a parking lot of an apartment house in the 500 block of South Chicago Avenue, according to a release from Kankakee Police Chief Mike Kinkade. It was the first homicide this year in the city of Kankakee and in Kankakee County.

Four days before the end of the year and they just had their first homicide. It took Chicago what? Eighteen hours to record a double homicide in 025 to start the year if we remember correctly.

After three decades of steady if unspectacular service, the spinning wheels of the home entertainment stalwart are slowing to a halt at retail outlets. On a crisp Friday morning in October, the final truckload of VHS tapes rolled out of a Palm Harbor, Fla., warehouse run by Ryan Kugler, the last major supplier of the tapes.

"It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," said Kugler, 34, a Southern California businessman. "I was the last one buying VHS and the last one selling it, and I'm done. Anything left in warehouse we'll just give away or throw away."

End-of-Year Spike?

The long holiday weekend for Christmas and temperatures threatening to break 60 degrees Saturday, will we see an outbreak of violence? WBBM 780 already has their Weekend Violence update section up and running Friday night:

Police responded to a shooting at 4245 W. Wilcox St. at 3:24 a.m. and found Colston shot multiple times on the street, Harrison District police said.

He had been shot in the torso. According to police, the shooting may have been a drive-by.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Operation Santa

In her sparkly red sweater, she was the smallest one in the crowded living room.

The large man in the red suit towered over her. Even the boxed presents were bigger than her.

And slowly but surely, Gresham District cops dressed in uniform blue -- their cheeks red from the cold outside -- pressed into the room, cramming into a doorway to get a look as Naomi Taylor, 5, carefully tore away wrapping paper to find a red bike and a play kitchen set.

Naomi Taylor, daughter of Nathaniel Taylor, was one of 32 children of cops killed or badly wounded in the line of duty who were visited by members of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and other CPD volunteers.

Untrained Doctors Critique Cops

Pretty hypocritical considering hospitals kill more people that just about all other causes combined, both accidental and intentional. You don't see our detective divisions questioning each and every hospital death:

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a survey of a random sample of U.S. emergency physicians, virtually all said they believed that law enforcement officers use excessive force to arrest and detain suspects.

The sample included 315 respondents. While 99.8 percent believed excessive force is used, almost as many (97.8 percent) reported that they had managed cases that they suspected or that the patient stated had involved excessive use of force by law enforcement officers.

Nearly two thirds (65.3 percent) estimated that they had treated two or more cases of suspected excessive use of force per year among their patients, according to a report of the survey published in the January 2009 issue of the Emergency Medicine Journal.

Of course, doctors are trained in street fighting where anything goes. Alleys, abandoned buildings, vacant lots where fists, feet, bricks, pipes, sticks and all manner of sharp objects can be and are used as weapons to avoid a trip back to prison. And we're sure they are intimately familiar with the Use of Force directives universally accepted whereby the officers are authorized by their respective states to use the force necessary to subdue such persons utilizing illegal means to escape capture. And they are no doubt aware that under just about every single state law, offenders have a legal obligation to not resist arrest and in fact, any resistance legally requires the application of force to quell resistance.

Most of what doctors see is without a doubt, judiciously applied restraint on the part of officers to terminate unlawful resistance. It isn't excessive by any stretch of the word.

Doctors have their own peer review or M&M conferences to assess when errors in treatments may have killed patients. They don't let us sit in on them. They should probably leave excessive force complaints to the proper investigating authorities instead of teaming up with ambulance chasers.

Shooting in 010 or 011

Chicago police arrested a person who tried to disarm an officer this evening on the West Side, causing the officer's weapon to fire.

No one was hurt during the incident, which happened about 6 p.m. near West 11th and South Mozart Streets.

Ogden District officers initially spotted the offender in a suspicious vehicle in that area, police said. The offender was arrested while trying to elude them, police said, but later tried to disarm one of the officers during a struggle.

Sounds like no one was hit. We aren't sure, but this effort to disarm the police seems to be a worrying trend. Be very careful out there. Every call you go to has a gun on it - yours. And your partner's if you're lucky enough to be riding 10-4 lately. And controlling that weapon means the difference between going home and never going home again.

House for Sale

The modest, red-brick home once owned by Al Capone is expected to hit the market this spring for an estimated $450,000, marking a new chapter for the infamous South Side landmark that has had just two owners since the death of Capone's mother in 1952.

There have been pictures of the house here and there over the years. We don't recall it being anything special aside from the previous owner. The article states that Scarface didn't spend too much time there anyway, so the possibilities of there being stashes of bootleg liquor there seem remote.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas to All

To each and every reader, we wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday. Should you be off, enjoy the day. Should you be working, be safe and keep your guard up so you can get home and enjoy the celebrations later.

And Another Thing...

We were driving by the CTA yard yesterday. Guess where the CTA plow was pushing all the snow that had piled up in the yard's parking lot? And then driving through the park, we saw not one but four Park District pick up trucks clearing Park District sidewalks pushing the snow where?

Into the road way.

So someone go find this Matt Smith and tell him the problem isn't Joe Schmoe putting a few shovel fulls of snow into the street while he's on the street side of his car anyway undoing the damage piled up by a few passes with the plow.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Fire? At Junior's House?

We just caught a fleeting glimpse of a supposed fire reported at Jesse Jackson Jr. home on the Channel 5 News.

While we certainly hope that everyone got out ok, we can't help but wonder that so soon after a sweeping indictment of Illinois and Chicago politics is released, a mysterious fire breaks out at the home of someone who's been feeding information to the feebs about a sitting governor since 2003 after a $25,000 "dishonorarium" was solicited for a state job.

We certainly hope Fitzgerald subpoenas the debris and ashes and finds out what was lost in the blaze.

[...] The origin of the fire was underneath the main fireplace in the residence. The homeowners are listed in a police report as U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th), police said.

We Thought They Were Joking

Burger King scented body spray?

On the heels of the mockumentary Whopper Virgins, Burger King is launching an actual beef-scented cologne to grab attention, and keep the grill marks of its brand firmly seared in to the collective cerebral cortex.

The fragrance is for real, and retails for just $4 bucks. It's available on FireMeetsDesire.com, the BK site with a slideshow of soothing images of waterfalls and beaches and finally the naked King to get you in the mood for fast food.

Aaaaaaaa....our eyes!!!!

And as of this writing, it is sold out. Word is a large shipment is headed to 003 under armed escort for this lady.

Muzzle This Idiot

As the fifth or sixth storm of the season dumps another 4-to-6 inches of global warming across the City of Chicago, Shortshanks has his Streets and Sanitation spokesweasel blaming someone for the streets being so shitty lately:

If your side street is still covered with snow, take a look at your neighbor before blaming the city.

City plows working for seven days straight, ending Sunday morning, cleared all 3,300 miles of side streets, said Matt Smith, spokesman for Chicago Streets and Sanitation Department. They are prepared to plow and salt tonight if there is more snow, he said.

“On the side streets we have found instances where people are pushing snow back into the streets” while shoveling out their cars, Smith said. “This is dangerous and not being a good neighbor. Please put snow on the parkway.”

Well gee whiz Matt, if your Department had kept up with the snow the way we've been proposing all month, maybe you wouldn't have plowed in all those cars to the point that people felt they had no where to throw it all but back into the street.

Despite reports that the city’s budget crunch was going to slow snow removal, plows and salt trucks “hit those side streets with more force than we ever have,” Smith said.

“These are Siberian conditions. And I don’t think they do side streets in Siberia. We do."

Siberia? Bullshit Matt. Smooth move blaming the voters for your crappy job so far this winter. Does the media even read any of this crap coming out of City Hall before publishing it? Do they even drive the city streets and look to see if any of this is actually true? How many people have to be shoveling the snow back into the street to account for the condition of said roadways? Shortshanks better hope everyone forgets the winter of 08-09 by the time elections come around.

Rahm Cleared!

A report issued by Barack Obama's transition concluded that the president-elect had no contact with Gov. Rod Blagojevich or his office and no one acting on Obama's behalf was involved in any "quid pro quo" arrangement the governor allegedly sought for filling the vacant Senate seat with a candidate of Obama's choosing.

Yup, a report issued by the very people being investigated sure puts our minds at ease. A few questions though:

Why do we have to go to The Smoking Gun website to read that Obama himself was interviewed by the feds?

Why are there no transcripts included so we can all read what the lawyers have cleared the transition team of?

How did one meeting that Rahm had with the governor suddenly become four and no one in the media seems to notice?

We sense a great untruthfulness about this entire incident...it's almost Clinton-esque. And the media continues its willful blindness.

Irony Defined

A county health department in southern Illinois found its Christmas party anything but tasty after dozens of people fell ill at a restaurant. The head of the Lawrence County Health Department says she was among 42 people who got sick during the buffet gathering of 72 people on Dec. 15 in Lawrenceville.

We know exactly where the Lawrenceville County Health Department Christmas party won't be held next year. We also heard there's a brand new item at the top of their "to investigate" list for this week.

Deserved Award

Chicago Lawn District Officer Karl Richardt opened a window and pulled two children from the home while Officer Adam Stark ripped down part of an iron gate in order to make sure they would be able to get the kids to safety, Franko said.

“He actually ripped the iron gate off its hinges,” Franko said of Stark.

Stark and Richardt handed the kids off to Chicago Lawn Officers Elliott Flagg and David Neberieza who took them from the gangway and into squad cars, according to Franko.

Not to detract from anything the officers did, but two other children died in the fire. We don't doubt for a minute that if the officers had the time or opportunity, they'd have tried their damnedest to rescue the other two. But the mother, if you could call her that, deserves a special place in Hell for what she did:

A woman previously convicted of child endangerment left her four children alone so she could watch a pool game with her boyfriend — and returned to find two of her daughters dead in a house fire early today, police sources said.

When are we going to start licensing people to have children? Honest to god, we license cars, guns, dogs, and all manner of nonsense, yet this person (and we're being generous even calling her that) can leave four kids alone to watch a fucking pool game and let two of her kids burn? A street execution would be too good for her.

FOID Cards

All members should be aware that, effective January 1, 2009, the Department intends to take disciplinary action against members who do not possess valid FOID cards. All members who do not possess valid cards should apply prior to the January 1st date. Members should keep a copy of the application with them and present it when requested until they receive their new card.

Rumor says the thinking behind this is that as a sworn peace officer on-duty, you are not required by law to have an FOID card on your person.

Off-duty, however, you are subject to different rules and must have a valid FOID on you if you are carrying.

Check your cards. We don't know if the State Police send out the renewal reminders like they used to, but better safe than sorry.

Oak Park Self Defense

Police are searching for a man who shot an armed robber after the man refused to give up his leather coat Sunday night at an Oak Park gas station.

The shooting happened about 11 p.m. at a gas station at North and Hayes avenues, in the northeast corner of Oak Park, according to Village of Oak Park Communications Director David Powers.

A man was putting gas in his car when he was approached by two other men who demanded his leather coat. The man in the coat refused, took out a handgun and shot one of the attempted robbers once in the mouth and once in his side before fleeing the scene, Powers said.

They're looking so they can give this guy a medal, right?

Police recovered a handgun from the scene but were unclear Monday morning whether the gun matched the one used in the shooting.

Here's something we were thinking:

Who cares?

No victim, no crime, a free gun for Oak Park and the jackass with no teeth can thank his lucky stars that his "victim" wasn't aiming two inches higher. Should be a very interesting mug shot for future reference.

Bears Live Another Day

Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal with 11:28 left in overtime and the Chicago Bears overcame frigid conditions and the Green Bay Packers for a 20-17 victory Monday night to stay in the running for the playoffs.

Chicago's Alex Brown blocked Mason Crosby's 38-yard field-goal attempt with 18 seconds left in regulation to preserve a 17-17 tie and send the game into overtime.

Once again, the defense carries the day and bails Orton out of a few badly timed interceptions. The defense even helped on the overtime coin toss when the referee bounced the coin off of Urlacher's helmet. Nutty weekend.

Foot Pursuit Policy?

There's a new foot pursuit policy in the Austin, Texas Police Department. From now on, officers in that agency will have to ask themselves a long list of questions before chasing criminal suspects by foot. According to a report in the Austin American Statesman by Tony Plohetski, Austin police officers must evaluate the immediate danger, consider whether a suspect is known and can be arrested later, and ask themselves what would be gained from pursuing the suspect before beginning foot chases.

The change in policy resulted in part from an incident last year where an Austin sergeant was fired after it was determined that he acted inappropriately when he shot and killed a suspect during a foot pursuit last year.

Great. A "balancing test" for foot chases. We can rank this one right up there with this bright idea from England:Yes, that's a camera. We think it's stapled to the guys head.

Streets and San Towing

We have no way of determining if this is true or false, but it wouldn't surprise us in the least:

O/T, but I guess King Dick has put his foot to the throat of streets and sans. My car was towed from a "school zone, no parking on school days" from a school that doesn't exist, it closed three years ago. I parked there everyday for two years, they just haven't taken the signs down yet. Today they towed my car all while yelling and insulting my wife for her inability to read. Well today is not a school day due to winter break, so I guess he can't read too well either.

Now as angry as I was I could understand it, the signs are still there. I waited in line to get my car and heard some other bad stories, much worse than mine. The first was a family visiting from another state. They parked on the opposite side of the street of temporary no parking signs. while they were gone they switched the signs to the other side of the street and towed all the cars. I felt bad for them. The second was just awful. There was an elevator stuck with 10 people in it in the loop. the emergency elevator service showed up with lights and signs on the truck. in the 10 minutes he took to save these people they hooked up his truck and he watched them tow it away.

I am truly embarrassed to work for this city today, and in saying that to the streets and sans desk lady she replied "suck it up, at least they city hasn't laid you off yet." I could only think to myself that my department is actually important, pretty sure the city would still survive if they stopped illegally towing cars...

Leaving there was a line a block long of tow trucks bringing cars in. Today must be a big day for them. I requested a hearing and I'm sure it won't mean a thing.

We'd make sure to park legally all the time in the coming months. And if you can't find legal parking, well golly, there's a whole bunch of suburbs with large parking lots and malls that let you park for free to do all of your necessary shopping. And the sales tax is less there, too, and even lower if you leave Cook County.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Cutbacks We Can Support

There have been a lot of discussions about cuts -- less snow removal, longer waits for things like tree cuttings -- and fee increases, such as those parking meters increases that are going to kill neighborhood businesses. The people of Chicago will be paying for a lot more and getting less. Such a deal.

But in all these talks, not once has it been suggested we lop off something completely unnecessary -- so many aldermen.

We don't need 50 aldermen. Some aldermen, but not 50. Maybe before 311, you needed an alderman to help you get city services. But not anymore. So really, 50 is a luxury Chicago can ill afford.

Because it's not just those 50 salaries of $110,556 each that we are stuck paying. That's 50 staffs, neighborhood offices and aldermanic "expense" accounts that pay for who knows what.

We've been pointing out for months that each aldercreature gets something like a million bucks to spend however they please. It's a legalized bribe that many of them steer to connected firms or relative's business rather than actually hold forth for bids and qualified applications.

If someone knows the machinations needed to get this on a binding referendum, we'd be more than happy to support an ordinance reducing the number of aldercreatures to 25 or even less. We'd post the petition sheets on our site and encourage each and every officer reading (and non-officers) to take them to work and around the neighborhood and get the required number of signatures. We'd be doing everyone a service.

Class Acts

More than a dozen military families associated with the Illinois chapter of Operation Homefront will be without their spouse this holiday season but not without the essentials. And the Chicago Blackhawks are to thank..

Blackhawksdefenseman Brent Sopel and his wife Kelly will open their west suburban home today to nearly 20 families and Blackhawk players for a holiday celebration.

Each player has committed to spending $600 on each family for food and toys and at the same time get a chance to know one another.

The charity end of the Blackhawks organization was always a class act, even when Bill Wirtz was running the show. This latest effort just reinforces that tradition.

The March to 500 Continues

WBBM's weekend violence update confirms five killings in the city. If last Wednesday's number is correct (492) then we're hovering at 497 for the year. We noticed some of our commentators double counting.

Is There a Profiler in the House?

Drew Peterson insisted on Saturday that he and a 23-year-old Romeoville waitress were engaged, breaking a weeklong silence on the subject.

But her family—and her live-in boyfriend—say he's dreaming.

The supposed fiance, Christina Raines, lives with a man who said the engagement announcement by Peterson is revenge for her rebuffing his advances.

This guy can't stay out of the limelight. He just can't do it. He's just about gotten away with murder, maybe two murders, beaten a trumped up gun charge and he still can't just walk away to some remote farm and spend the rest of his days penning a confession to be read the day after he dies.

He's a profiler's dream candidate and a couple of term papers for an abnormal psychological major looking to make a name for themselves.

St. Louis Police Bling

St. Louis' new police chief and other top officers in the department are receiving gold-filled badges worth nearly $2,000 each.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that that's about 100 times the price of a patrolman's badge. And it's more than other departments spend. For example, Kansas City Police Chief James Corwin's badge cost $48.75.

But it's a lot less than the $5,900 each the city spent on two solid-gold badges for Chief Daniel Isom's predecessor, Joe Mokwa.

We figure the aldercreatures and Shortshanks will be lined up for these items. J-Fed could buy his own.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Bears Still Alive

The Bears don't play until Monday night, but their playoff hopes got a tiny little boost Saturday night. For the Bears to be completely eliminated by Monday Night kickoff, the following had to happen:

Dallas had to beat the Ravens Saturday night;

Bucs beat the Chargers Sunday;

Eagles beat the Redskins;

Vikings beat the Falcons.

Dallas lost, so the Bears wild card hopes remain alive. Doctors aren't optimistic, but they are alive. If the Bears had just won one more game, chances would be much better, but you can't usually make the playoffs relying on other teams to lose. You have to take care of your own business.

In any event, we'll be watching a couple of the games with a bit more interest than usual. But none of it means a thing unless the Bears win Monday.

Did anyone notice the Blackhawks won their SEVENTH game in a row Saturday? We did. And they have a bit of a rest before taking on Katey's Flyers on Friday.

UPDATE: Bucs lost, so the Bears chances are getting better, They're probably up around 20% now.

UPDATE: Redskins held off the Eagles on an amazing last play at the goal line.

UPDATE: Ok, this just isn't fair. Now the Vikings lost. Each and every game that had to go one way, went the other way to the Bears advantage. So much for our previous statement about not having to rely on the other teams to lose. Now it's all up to the Bears on Monday Night Football to keep it alive for one more week. Unbelievable.

Dress it Up Any Way You Want

Brought to Chicago from the FBI to improve the image of a scandal-plagued Chicago Police Department, Jody Weis instead saw his first year as superintendent dominated by a substantial rise in violent crime.

Since being hired in February, Weis spent much of the year fighting to improve officer morale, battling with aldermen who disapproved of his rapid overhaul of the department's command staff, and trying to develop new strategies—or revive old ones—to fight rising crime.

When arrest numbers went down, Weis ordered officers to be more aggressive. He created a Mobile Strike Force to fight gangs, promising tight oversight of the unit since a corruption scandal had shut down the similar Special Operations Section before his arrival. He also recently promoted a former commander of SOS to be head of patrol.

Still, the city is approaching 500 homicides for the year, a number the city has not reached since 2003.

We still take issue with this media-created fantasy that the entire Department was out of control - it wasn't. Even at it's worst, it was maybe thirty cops in ten different incidents and most of those were caught without outside assistance. That's still a lower percentage than aldercreatures and Illinois governors who have gone or are going to jail in recent years.

What the media doesn't seem to want to cover (or won't cover) is the political machinations behind the scenes that enable incidents like these to pop up semi-regularly. The people getting caught aren't reinventing the wheel. They're making the same dumb mistakes over and over again and are constantly surprised that they get nailed. Common sense screening or standard disciplinary measures across the board could weed out these future incidents or stop them in their tracks. But that would entail severing the Department from it's political masters and Shortshanks has been instrumental in wedding the Department to the Machine for the past two decades. J-Fed isn't going to change that anytime soon.

Another Ridiculous Payout

Crispus Booker, who has since moved from Chicago, was sitting on his porch in the 6800 block of South Talman Avenue when he laughed at two police officers who had been chasing a suspect.

As they went to arrest him, he pushed one of the officers and ran, said his attorney, Jon Loevy. The officer who was shoved [...] chased Booker and fired, striking his right hand. Booker was lying on the ground with his hands raised when Livergood fired again, according to a lawsuit Booker filed.

The bullet traveled through Booker's lungs and liver and lodged near his spine. He lost about 40 percent of his blood and spent a month in the hospital.

Booker, who according to court records has past drug and robbery convictions, pleaded guilty to battery for shoving the officer, Loevy said.

Police ruled Booker's shooting was justified, finding that he punched [the officer] and attempted to grab his gun, Loevy said. The officers said they found two firearms Booker threw as he ran.

And J-Fed really does some favors for the Department:

In a statement, Police Supt. Jody Weis said "the misdeeds of a few should not undermine the courage and service of the vast majority of police officers who served under SOS with integrity." Weis also said he had taken steps to prevent "future acts from occurring" while keeping the department focused on reducing crimes while building public trust.

What the fuck does that mean? This is a misdeed? The officer chased a suspect who discarded TWO handguns, then defends himself when the offender tries to disarm him? The article barely touches on the shooting, which to us means there weren't any substantial accusations of misconduct - that would have been played up as front page news in this atmosphere.

And J-Fed is taking steps to prevent "future acts from occurring?" Future acts of self defense? Or future acts of any cop ever attempting to get guns off the street anymore? We got news for you J-Fed, you're already there. Five hundred plus dead this year - six hundred dead next year?

500 a Foregone Conclusion

Just how far over is the question now. From the comments:

Chalkie has made numerous guest appearances over the weekend from Rogers Park (another 16yo CPS student) to Logan Square to Austin to Englewood to Pullman. That's right people FIVE more. That brings are estimated total to about 497

Grau Goes to SA Office

Former top cop Hiram Grau, who was hired by Chris Kennedy to head security at the Merchandise Mart, has been snagged by new Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.

• • Translation: Wasting no time in shaking up her management staff, Alvarez has hired Grau as her new deputy chief investigator for the narcotics special prosecutions division.

We'd imagine with the recent upheaval on the CPD end, we might see more than a few high profile defections to the State's Attorney's office. After all, a City and a County pension? Watch for some big names to follow Grau.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Sneedling is a Gold Nugget

Sometimes, Sneed can publish something that seems so innocuous, yet reveals so much about the local political scene, that we can't help but wonder if she's clueless or playing dumb while poling fun at the political masters. This is a prime example:

Hire 'em & fire 'em?

Hmmmm: Sneed hears rumbles the Chicago Christian Industrial League is in a quandary over what to do with its development director, first lady Patti Blagojevich.

• • Translation: The League, which- works to restore families affected by poverty and homelessness, feels compassion for Patti, but is concerned about the publicity stemming from the "pay-to-play" federal probe involving her husband. Her role as development director remains a sticky wicket. Will her role change? She's been keeping a very very low profile at work, where she has a one-year contract for $100,000.

Blago is under a federal indictment for attempting to sell a US Senate seat. Part of the wiretap has him bitching about how his wife is more qualified that someone else's wife to have a board seat. That someone else turns out to have been Michelle Obama, and that's just typical Illinois underhanded pay-to-play politics at its finest.

So what does Sneed do? Points out that Patti Mell-Blago has a one-year contact for $100,000 from the Christian Industrial League to sit on their board. Could the flashlight be any brighter? Does Sneed have to use a laser pointer to show the feebs the way? How about the rest of the so called "investigative" reporters? Kass has been giving people the road map for years. Sneed, inadvertently or on purpose, just put the biggest target of all on Blago's wife.

Knowing some of Chicago's more underhanded political tricks, we wouldn't doubt for a minute that she was told to put the spotlight on the governor's wife, but anyone with half a brain would do well to look around the edges of the light in the not so well hidden shadows and see who else's wives, daughters, sons, nephews, etc,. have been sitting on corporate boards, pension boards, zoning boards, rules committees and such.

Secretary of Education

In 2007, only 17 percent of eighth graders tested at or above grade level in reading in Chicago Public Schools – the school system administered by Arne Duncan since 2001.

President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday tapped Duncan to become secretary of education in the upcoming administration.

Duncan, hailed by Obama as a reformer, said he would like to take the lessons he learned in Chicago with him when he moves to Washington. “I'm also eager to apply some of the lessons we have learned here in Chicago to help school districts all across our country," Duncan said after Obama formally named him to the job in Chicago.

Of course, if by "...the lessons we have learned here in Chicago..." means caving to the Teachers Union on each and every issue, throwing tons of money at schools to increase salaries and budgets while presiding over decreasing scores and plummeting graduation rates, then the US is in for a rude shock.

That word "success?" We don't think it means the same as it does in Chicago political circles.

Lillie Followup

Yes, we know that many other Districts besides 003 put the arm on people for a big showing at the Christmas parties.

Yes, we know it's been going on for years.

But a couple of points:

For too long, the "big turnout" at the party was part of some weird popularity contest among the exempt ranks. "My party was bigger than your party" is ridiculous measuring stick by which to measure ability as a commander. Especially if you can force large numbers of underlings to buy tickets.

If it is a decent party at a decent joint with halfway decent door prizes, there usually isn't an attendance issue. People like to go places they are appreciated or know they will have a good time at. And if it was honoring one or more coppers who were genuinely nice people instead of crusty old jagoffs no one liked, it was an even better time.

In this day and age of politicians being recorded for "pay-to-play," Department morale being so low as to be unmeasurable, J-Fed and his crew looking for the very tiniest infractions to hammer and make examples of Officers with, do we really need even the slightest hint of impropriety to be rearing it's head around anything to do with Christmas parties?

Maybe, in an effort to raise morale and recognize that officers are what makes the Department work, the Commanders ought to pay for the party themselves and give the tickets out to the Officers.

Midway Gun Incident

Evidently, the commander of 003 has lost her mind. Two different comments popped up today:

This just in At 1400 Hours at Chicago Midway What commnader tried to fly to Houston with her weapon and was stopped and not happy with TSA? Check RD# HP741649 [sic]

Hey my buddy is a tsa agent at midway about 1400 hours crump hales is flying out to houston, but she was carrying her gun through securuty was not happy and a case report was generated, tsa called washington and she will be receiving a big fine in the mail poor lillie! Karma is a bitch! [sic]

Didn't they just come out with a whole new set of rules about flying armed? Didn't they just post it in the CO Books? Didn't it emphasize the only people flying armed were those operating in their official capacity during prisoner transports and similar duties?

Friday, December 19, 2008

Hegewisch Shooting

Officials tonight are investigating a police-involved shooting in the Hegewisch neighborhood in which an officer also was shot but not seriously injured.

The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. in the 13400 block of South Burley Avenue. An officer and a man exchanged gunfire, each striking the other, said Chicago Police Officer John Henry.

Mark Payne, spokesman for the Independent Police Review Authority, was on the scene at about 10:15 p.m. and confirmed that both a police officer and "another individual" had been hit by gunfire. Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene he said and are still trying to determine the circumstances that led to the shootings and how many people were involved.

Mobster Doth Protest Too Much

Sometime blog reader and author Robert Cooley made an accusation this week that Blago used to be part of a mobbed up bookkeeping operation in the western suburbs. Cooley would have some knowledge of these shenanigans as he turned government witness and helped jail 24 other lawyers, politicos, judges and a cop or two. Now there's a convicted bookmaker stepping up to say he never had any dealings with Blago.

Abbinanti admits having run outfit gambling rackets with Marco 'The Mover' D'amico and that he was convicted with top mob gambling bosses for which he spent six years in the federal penitentiary.

"I don't know what Rod Blagojevich did or has done but I do know one thing. I never met the man. I never spoke to the man. I never had any business personal or in any way with him and you know what, it's just an injustice," said Abbinanti.

All that proves is that Abbinanti is smarter than Blago for not getting caught on federal wiretaps. But what does it say about Illinois politics when a convicted Outfit soldier is your most prominent defender and your lawyer has a habit of representing persons known by the Chicago Crime Commission as mob members?

Gun Ban Stands (for now)

In his ruling, Shadur appeared to caution the city that its victory might be short-lived.

"This court should not be misunderstood as either rejecting or endorsing the logic of plaintiff's argument. It may well carry the day before a court that is unconstrained by the obligation to follow the unreversed precedent of a court that occupies a higher position in the judicial firmament," the decision stated.

Even Washington is bowing to the inevitable and permitting gun ownership:

Earlier this week, the D.C. Council replaced its overturned law with new regulations that require gun owners to receive five hours of safety training and register their firearms every three years.

Gun owners in the nation's capital would also face criminal background checks every six years.

DC isn't banning guns. They realize that that train has left the station. They just want to put up more hoops to jump through and make it inconvenient to own a gun.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Lillie Strikes Again

Come on now. Seriously. In this day and age?

Why is Lillie "Burger King" Crump-Hales threatening to dump every Tactical or Gang Officer that does not buy a ticket AND attend the 003rd District Christmas party? How much more can she destroy the morale of that District?? I heard she was dumb, but give me a break! Stop treating your Officers like crap! It's obvious that you were never the working Police. She is truly a joke.

Snitches Get Stitches?

Snitches is Bitches? Snitches wind up in Ditches? If we're reading this correctly, Jesse Jr. has been feeding the FBI info about Blago for years, and still got caught up in some sort of bidding war for the other Illinois Senate seat:

Shortly after his 2002 election, Gov. Rod Blagojevich told Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. he didn't appoint the congressman's wife for lottery director because he had refused to make a $25,000 donation to the governor's campaign, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press.

"That's why she's not getting the job," the person quoted Blagojevich as saying. The person, a Jackson associate who was interviewed Tuesday by the AP, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing federal investigation.

Jackson's name has played prominently ever since Blagojevich was arrested last week on corruption charges, including allegations that the governor tried to sell or trade President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for personal gain.

Instead of the theory we saw in the comment section that maybe Daley was "Whitey Bulger" feeding the feds info on people he wanted kept in check, maybe Jesse Jr and the whole Jackson crime family have been feeding info to the feds to undercut competition and maintain their grip on the race pandering industry and corporate extortion rackets. It makes as much sense as anything else we've seen so far.

Chicago - Fifth Worst City

Rank: 5Workers who would not like to move there: 8%Median household income: $45,505Median home value: $234,643Annual home price change: -8.9%

Chicago has a lot of jobs, entertainment, and culture to offer, but for many people, winters in the Windy City are simply too cold. The city also has a tough image that dates back to the era of Al Capone. Among the city's worst attributes, according to the survey: environment (including climate), community (connectivity and sense of place), and affordability.

Between New Orleans (4) and Washington DC (6). That surge of civic pride just chokes us up.

$86 Million - But no Raises

The Chicago City Council voted 48-0 today to approve a deal for the city to buy the 37-acre Michael Reese Hospital site for $86 million as part of the city's bid for the 2016 Olympics.

The Daley administration hopes to use the site as the Olympic Village and then transform it into a mixed-use development with affordable housing.

And still no word that we're even going to get the games. The odds appear in Chicago's favor since the Obama election, but what if it all goes south at some point? We're sitting on 492 murders already this year. Next year?

Hi Frank!

At least 50 members of the Chicago Patrolmen's Credit Union have been targets of thieves who have used their debit card numbers, authorities said Tuesday.

Investigators suspect the thieves are stealing the card numbers when the cards are used to make online payments. Police don't think credit union employees are involved in the thefts. About 12 financial institutions, including the credit union, have been hit.

Glad we could do the heavy lifting for you Frank. How about you fire a check for $1,000 over to the Hundred Club of Cook County in our names since we write almost an article a week for you this past year?

Maybe we can write movie reviews next year and maybe take a load off of Ebert's plate.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Hyde Park Killing

A man was found shot to death on a Hyde Park street late Tuesday, police said.

Officers found a man later identified as Cydrell Bragg, 28, of an undetermined Chicago address, lying on the street with a gunshot wound to the head about 11:55 p.m. in the 1600 block of East 53rd Street, a police spokesman said. The area where he was found is near a Metra viaduct and station.

The man was dead on the scene, said Officer David Banks. Officials from the Cook County Medical Examiner's office were on the scene a little after 1 a.m.

Sound like a dangerous place. Well, that's all the City lately. Are we at 500 yet?

And Another Shooting

A Chicago police officer shot an armed offender while executing a search warrant tonight on the South Side.

At about 7:04 p.m., officers from the Narcotics Section approached a residence in the 7300 block of South Kingston Avenue when a person confronted the officers with a gun, according to a statement issued by the police department.

An officer fired his weapon and the suspect was struck, the police statement said.

Dumb Kid

Where the hell are his parents?

This picture was on the front page of the Tribune's website for a good portion of the day yesterday. Evidently, this kid has (A) never seen the movie "A Christmas Story" and (B) never seen anybody in his neighborhood walking a dog.

Surfers Beware

The major press outlets are abuzz this morning with news of a major new security flaw that affects all versions of Internet Explorer from IE5 to the latest beta of IE8. The attack has serious and far-reaching ramifications -- and they're not just theoretical attacks. In fact, the flaw is already in wide use as a tool to steal online game passwords, with some 10,000 websites infected with the code needed to take advantage of the hole in IE.

As the entire CPD runs on Internet Explorer, we'd imagine our IT people are working busily at fixing this massive gaping hole in security.

Start Growing Your Hair

While everyone is busy thinking about the upcoming Holidays, please start thinking about St. Baldrick's Day as well. For those that don’t remember from last year, St. Baldrick's is an event that raises money for childhood cancer research, and over 90% of the money raised goes directly towards this research.

St. Baldrick’s is an event where you offer to get your head shaved or if you have hair longer than 12” you donate that hair to be used for making wigs for childhood cancer patients, in return for pledges that are turned into research dollars. Chicago area hospitals and doctors have been direct recipients of funds from St. Baldrick’s and more information can be learned at www.stbaldricks.org . The CPD site for 2009 will be up and running soon.

Last year was the first year CPD put a team together and despite a very short time frame, we raised over $77,000.00 which was outstanding, and I know we will do even better this year. The 2009 event will take place on Friday, March 6, 2009 so mark your calendars and start letting your hair grow, more details will follow.

So there's time to get a nice haircut for the Christmas pictures with Grandma, then start aiming for a trimming in March, just in time for spring.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

What Snowplows?

This is ridiculous. We just traveled 15 miles through the City. Guess how many plows we saw? Guess how many salt trucks? We'll give you a hint:

Z _ R _

Vanna, we'd like to buy a vowel please. Two vowels actually.

WBBM is reporting that all 274 (or similar number) snowplows and salt trucks are out clearing streets.

We say bullshit. Who are you going to believe - Daley's Snow Command or your goddamn lying eyes?

Daley has lost it. He's "saving" money at the cost of property damage and endangering lives. One of the newspapers noted "slip-and-fall" visits to the emergency rooms were something like three times usual averages. Our own Medical Section has noted a marked increase in injuries related to icing. How much is Daley willing to lose in missed work time, lawsuit payouts and lost sales tax revenue when everyone decides to do their Christmas shopping somewhere they can actually drive to in less than an hour? It's three-and-a-half hours from downtown to O'Hare and the city doesn't even do the expressways anymore. Surface streets are worse.

City Council to Piss Away Money

A divided City Council committee today recommended paying nearly $2.3 million to the family of a teenager who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer after the teen took part in a home invasion at the home of the officer's parents.

[...] But, in rare dissents from such recommendations, four aldermen disagreed, setting the state for a possible full City Council debate on Wednesday.

"I say we go to trial on this one," Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) said. " don't agree with the settlement on this one. . . I can't see paying the estate for an armed robber who invaded a home."

The copper named in this case ended up killing his wife a few years later, but the fact remains that at the time, his residence was home invaded by a piece of garbage who got exactly what was coming to him. And now the dead guy is a lottery ticket.

That's Entertainment

House lawmakers voted 113-0 to authorize a committee to investigate a host of pay-to-play allegations leveled against the governor, just six days after he was arrested by federal agents at his North Side home. The vote marked the unique circumstance of Democratic lawmakers leading a bid to displace Illinois' first Democratic governor in a quarter-century.

In the meantime, Obama "clarifies" his remarks further, backing away from claims he and his staff had "no contact" with Blago over the Senate seat and instead had "no inappropriate contacts" with Blago (we certainly wonder what those tapes are going to reveal).

Rahm Emanuel continues to refuse to answer questions and a new Rasmussen poll notes that 45% of respondents feel that Obama or his team are involved in the Blago scandal.

And now Obama is going to name Arne Duncan to be Education Secretary? Has anyone even looked at the Chicago Public School system lately? On one hand, we're thankful Obama is taking another useless political hack to Washington with him. On the other, does the rest of America really deserve what's coming?

FBI Shoots Bank Robber

The suspect had robbed a TCF Bank branch earlier Monday morning in the 4300 block of North Sheridan Road and was tracked to the 800 block of North Michigan Avenue, according to the FBI.

After a short foot chase, the suspect was apprehended, according to a release from the FBI. While he was being taken into custody, the man somehow managed to get behind the wheel of an FBI vehicle, then tried to run over one of the arresting FBI agents with that car, the release said. A second FBI agent, fearing for his partner's safety, fired one round from his service weapon into the car, striking the suspect.

Monday, December 15, 2008

The J-Fed Papers

Some time ago, we were approached by member of the inner circle who offered us a glimpse into the inner machinations of the man known as J-Fed. This individual, at great personal risk, placed their career in mortal jeopardy by forwarding us actual documents from the desk of the Superintendent. These papers offer a fascinating insight into the workings of a mind molded by the FBI and give a glimpse into his drive to utterly destroy a big city police department at the behest of a demented dwarf.

We present The J-Fed Papers:

Exhibit #1: Secret Command Staff Code Names; doodle; shopping list?

Exhibit #2 appears to be a preview of the Pre-Turkey Day Massacre during which numerous connected persons were shifted and even demoted as other favors were called in and markers were tallied. It would appear that the Supe follows the blog at times.

Our source has promised further documents as they become available following the meetings of the Policy Group. We are forwarding these to a head-shrinker we know for professional analysis. It should be interesting as the shrink used to profile for the feebs.